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Planning Board approves special‑use permit for Just Cats at 1 Driscoll Road with condition on parking
Summary
The Saratoga Springs Planning Board approved a special‑use permit for Just Cats at 1 Driscoll Road, allowing conversion of part of the site to 11 apartments alongside a veterinary clinic after adopting a SEQRA negative declaration; the board required a revised site plan showing 46 parking spaces for administrative review.
The Saratoga Springs Planning Board on July 18 voted to approve a special‑use permit for 1 Driscoll Road, the property commonly known as Just Cats, permitting 11 residential units together with an existing veterinary office.
Chair (planning board) and applicant representatives told the board the building footprint will not change. The applicant’s engineer said the proposal adds seven units on the second floor and four on the first floor, and that revised calculations using New York Department of Health standards project sanitary flow at about 2,730 gallons per day. The engineer said an Elgin system (a NYSDOH‑approved design that reduces septic footprint) would be used to accommodate the increased flow within the existing footprint.
The applicant also explained parking and stormwater changes: required parking dropped during recalculations to 46 spaces, and the revised layout would reduce impervious surface by roughly 6,000 square feet, which the engineer said would reduce stormwater runoff. Board members and the applicant discussed shared parking and whether any banking of spaces would be used; the board confirmed a condition that the applicant submit a revised site plan showing 46 parking spaces for administrative review.
Before the permit vote the Planning Board adopted a negative declaration under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), finding no moderate or large environmental impacts on the basis of the application materials and the short environmental assessment form. The board then voted to approve the special‑use permit with the administrative condition on the revised site plan.
Board member Bill McTig raised a broader planning concern about long‑term sanitary sewer service in the Route 9 corridor and said the city should consider extending public sanitary sewers if the area is to be a focus for future residential growth; the board recorded that concern on the record but did not condition approval on sewer extension. The applicant confirmed water service will be extended from the east side of Route 9 and the building will be sprinkled for fire safety.
Next steps: the applicant will submit the revised site plan showing 46 parking spaces for administrative review and coordinate with city staff on the required supplemental plans.
